Hold Fast

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb 4:14 AV)

To me, Hebrews is a very special book.  The theme of the book is the superiority of Jesus Christ.  The author compares Jesus Christ and what He does for the sinner with all other sources of faith upon which the Jewish worshipper might errantly rely.  The writer challenges his audience to remember the ever-living, eternal, and all-powerful high priest who has died for their sin and now sits at the right hand of God’s power to be the anchor for their faith.  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith because He has risen from death, gained victory for the believing, and now makes intercession for us.  Knowing I have a High Priest who has lived as I live, has felt what I feel, and has not succumbed to sin; who now sits victoriously at the side of God our Father is an assurance and object of faith that cannot be matched.  There is simply no excuse for losing our profession of faith.  If we do, we have our eyes on the wrong thing.

As often stated recently, I used to run track.  My Junior High school years were my athletic years.  They didn’t last much longer than that.  I was a sprinter and not a marathoner.  This meant that I ran dashes.  But I also ran relay races.  Usually, the race consisted of a four-person team, each running an equal section of the overall length of the race.  There was a small piece of wood handed off from the one completing his leg to the next runner.  The peg was called a baton.  With a few yards left in the leg, the next runner would come alongside the one finishing, matching stride for stride, and then receive the baton, heading off for his leg of the race.  When completed, the coach required we stay at the finish line for the last runner.  Other teams returned to their bench when their leg was over.  Not our team.  We stood at the finish line and spurred on our teammate.  He could see us at the end of the race yelling, jumping up and down, and frantically waving him in.  His eyes were on the tap and on his classmates who had finished their race well.  This sight gave wind to his sails.  He sped up ever so slightly.  We didn’t win every race.  But we won our fair share.  If it wasn’t for those who had finished before we did cheering us on, we probably would not have won as many as we did.

The whole argument for remaining steadfast in our profession is that we have someone at the finish line who loves us more than we can ever comprehend who has suffered more than we can imagine that we might enjoy more than we could explain.  Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith has gone before, sitting at the right hand of God, intervening for us that we might finish well.  What a picture.  What a truth.  What a consolation.  What a promise.  So, run your leg well.  Carry that baton and do not drop it.  Keep your eyes on the person of Jesus Christ and do not let the Devil, the world, or the flesh keep you from running well!